A round of Israeli air strikes and rockets fired at Israel from Gaza continued on Sunday, hours after Egypt brokered a truce following the deaths of nine Palestinian militants and an Israeli civilian.

Islamic Jihad, the main militant organisation behind the rocket launches, said on Sunday morning that it had agreed to abide by a ceasefire.

However, Israel launched a further air strike on Sunday afternoon, which it said was intended to thwart a further attempt to fire missiles from Gaza. A tenth militant was killed in the strike, and another wounded.

The Israeli prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, told his cabinet: "There is no ceasefire, and the other side will pay a heavier price than it has so far until it ceases fire."

Earlier, an Islamic Jihad leader had said the organisation would comply with a truce if Israeli air strikes ceased. "When all jet fighters leave the skies of Gaza, we will stop firing rockets," Dawud Shehab said.

The weekend's cycle of violence began when the Israeli air force targeted a group of militants in southern Gaza on Saturday, claiming the militants were preparing to launch long-range missiles into Israel.

Five Islamic Jihad operatives were killed in the strike including Ahmed al-Sheikh Khalil, a senior commander.

A salvo of missiles later struck southern Israel, triggering air raid sirens and causing the death of a man in Ashkelon, about 10 miles north of Gaza. Dozens of Israelis were treated for shock and light injuries. More than 20 Qassam missiles and about 10 Grad rockets were fired on Saturday, according to the Israeli military.

The Israeli air force carried out a series of air strikes on Saturday evening, in which a further four militants were killed.

Schools in southern Israeli towns and cities remained closed on Sunday, affecting about 200,000 children.

The Israeli defence force said its first air strike on Saturday had targeted a squad responsible for the firing of a Grad missile, which fell in an open area and caused no casualties or damage, last Wednesday.

The exchange of cross-border attacks punctuated about two months of quiet since a deadly confrontation in August following a militant attack near the Israel-Egypt border in which eight Israelis were killed.

Nabil Abu Rudeineh, spokesman for the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, called for an end to the violence.

Hamas has largely adhered to a ceasefire that came into effect at the end of a three-week war in Gaza in January 2009. However, smaller militant groups such as Islamic Jihad and the Popular Resistance Committees have continued sporadic rocket fire.

The release of 477 Palestinian militants as part of a deal to free the Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit less than two weeks ago has been criticised by some prominent figures in Israel as being too heavy a price and giving a political boost to Hamas.

Many of the released prisoners were from, or deported to, Gaza. A further 550 prisoners are due to be released under the terms of the deal in the next six weeks.